Peg Spradlin

Quilt Feathers Patterns and Techniques

Peg Spradlin
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Duration:   10  mins

Peg Spradlin adds some elegance and beauty to your quilt top by teaching you how to add freeing feathers. Learn how to draft a traditional feather starting with the height and spine. As you become more comfortable with this you will be able to make feathered cables and feathered wreaths.

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7 Responses to “Quilt Feathers Patterns and Techniques”

  1. Duncan Garrison

    In my opinion, formal feathers should consist of curves only. The spine should curve to give a general shape, and the “height” or limits curves should gently echo the spine on each side of the spine. I disagree with retracing the pedal caps. If that is done, the result will be that every other pedal cap will stand out because it is doubled. I think only the stems of the pedals should be retraced, as any “wondering” off the line will not be as noticeable as it is on the caps. I tend to stitch the pedals on the concave side of the spine first, whichever side that may be. Then I continue the opposite side in the opposite direction along the spine. That means being able to stitch the pedals from the bottom up, or from the top down. Bottom down actually seems easier to me, as I can see the limit curve more clearly stitching in that direction. If you want nice looking formal feathers, don’t be in a hurry to bring your pedal stem back to the spine. The divergent angle between spine and stem should never be more than 15 degrees.

    Reply
  2. Christine Hunter

    I loved the instruction using the spine and height lines but how did she transfer her design to the fabric?

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Christine. Thanks for contacting us. To be perfectly honest I’m not sure how she transferred the feathers. I do recognize the blue fabric marking pen that the majority of quilters like to use. I’m assuming that she either used a stencil and traced the design on the fabric or marked the spine using a ruler and freehanded the design with the marker. Most quilters I know either depend on a stencil for tracing or have been doing feathers for so long that they free-hand them. Minor irregularities are acceptable and the eye is so busy with the intricate design that they aren’t noticeable. Enjoy practicing a new skill.
      Colleen
      National Quilters Circle

      Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hello,

      Heather generally prefers to free motion quilt with her feed dogs up, as she feels a gives her a bit more grip on the fabric. However, free motion quilting is generally done with the feed dogs down. I would recommend trying out those techniques and seeing which one works best for you.

      Cheers,

      Ashley
      National Quilters Circle Video Membership

      Reply
  4. Pam Jett

    I’ve made a dog quilt and need help on how to quilt it. I’ve done in the ditch around the squares and the different dogs . But how else should I quilt??? It seems undone.

    Reply

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